Smart call delivery with GIS integration

ABSTRACT

A method of delivering a call to a called party&#39;s device. The method includes receiving a call directed to a wireline device and validating that a telephone number of the wireline device is associated with a telephone number of a wireless device. The method also includes transmitting a message to the wireless device, delivering the call to the wireline device when a return message is not received from the wireless device, and determining a location of the wireless device when a return message is received from the wireless device. The method further includes comparing the location of the wireless device with a location of the wireline device, delivering the call to the wireless device when the location of the wireless device is not within a predefined vicinity of the location of the wireline device, and delivering the call to the wireline device when the location of the wireless device is within a predefined vicinity of the location of the wireline device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention is directed generally to the field oftelecommunications and, more particularly, to wirelesstelecommunications.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Smart Call Delivery (SCD) is a service offered by sometelecommunications service providers. Using conventional SCD,subscribers are able to re-direct calls made to their wireline phone toan associated wireless device. If the wireless device is on, the call isdirected to the wireless phone. Although SCD is particularly useful tothose who travel frequently, subscribers oftentimes forget to turn offtheir wireless device when returning to the home or office where SCD isnot needed. Consequently, calls are re-directed to the wireless devicewhen it may have been more economical from the point of view of thesubscriber to receive the call via a wireline phone. Because wirelessairtime charges may be greater than those for standard wirelineservices, a subscriber can incur additional expense if SCD is notlimited to use only when the subscriber is away from the proximity ofthe subscriber's wireline phone.

[0003] A second though unrelated problem facing wireless subscribers isthe inability of emergency care personnel to pinpoint a caller'slocation. Using geographic information system (GIS) applications, callsfrom a wireline phone can be associated with an address and representedon a computer-generated map. Calls from wireless devices, on the otherhand, cannot be associated with a fixed address. This raises concernsabout public safety, because emergency services such as 911 frequentlyrely on GIS information when responding to calls. As a result, theUnited States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has introduced theEmergency 911 (E-911) mandate, requiring that wireless phone providersincorporate automatic location identification (ALI) features into theirproducts by October of 2001. Using ALI technologies such as globalpositioning systems (GPS) and cellular triangulation, E-911 callers canbe pinpointed well within the requirement of the FCC mandate.

[0004] Although the number of wireless products and servicesincorporating ALI features has been rapidly increasing in response toE-911 requirements, no system or method exists for utilizing thesetechnologies to determine when wireless services such as SCD should beenabled or disabled.

[0005] Thus, a need exists for a system that integrates the locationalcapabilities of wireless devices with GIS technology to improve thefunctionality and minimize the costs associated with existing services.In particular, combining these technologies would allow subscribers toconserve wireless airtime when more economical wireline alternatives maybe available.

SUMMARY

[0006] According to one embodiment, the present invention is directed toa method of delivering a call to a called party's device. The methodincludes receiving a call directed to a wireline device and validatingthat a telephone number of the wireline device is associated with atelephone number of a wireless device. The method also includestransmitting a message to the wireless device, delivering the call tothe wireline device when a return message is not received from thewireless device, and determining a location of the wireless device whena return message is received from the wireless device. The methodfurther includes comparing the location of the wireless device with alocation of the wireline device, delivering the call to the wirelessdevice when the location of the wireless device is not within apredefined vicinity of the location of the wireline device, anddelivering the call to the wireline device when the location of thewireless device is within a predefined vicinity of the location of thewireline device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0007] The present disclosure will be described in conjunction with thefollowing figures, wherein:

[0008]FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an Advanced IntelligentNetwork;

[0009]FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the call delivery systemutilizing GIS integration of the present invention; and

[0010]FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a flow through the system ofFIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The term “calling party” is used herein generally to refer to theperson or unit that initiates a telecommunication. The calling party mayalso be referred to herein as “caller.” In some cases, the calling partymay not be a person, but may be a device such as a facsimile machine, ananswering service, a modem, etc. The term “called party” or “customer”is used herein generally to refer to the person or unit that answers orresponds to the call or communication. The term “communication” is usedherein to include all messages or calls that may be exchanged between acalling party and a called party, including voice, data and videomessages. The term “communication” is used synonymously herein with theterm “call” unless a distinction is noted.

[0012] One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a systemand method of re-directing wireline telephone calls to an associatedwireless device only when the wireless device is in a different locationthan the wireline telephone. Accordingly, the SCD service with GISintegration described by the present invention prevents callre-direction when the call can be answered using the wireline telephone.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the present invention utilizes theintelligent functionality of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN). TheAIN is a network used in conjunction with a conventional telephonenetwork, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), toprovide enhanced voice and data services and dynamic routingcapabilities using two different networks. The actual voice call istransmitted over a circuit-switched network, but the signaling is doneon a separate packet-switched network. Before describing further detailsof the present invention, a description of the AIN is provided.

[0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)10 for integration with the public switched telephone network (PSTN).The AIN 10 may be employed by a Local Exchange Carrier (LEC), and may beutilized by the LEC to allow the LEC to provide call processing featuresand services that are not embedded within conventional switchingcircuits of the PSTN.

[0015] A typical LEC includes a number of central office (CO) switchesfor interconnecting customer premises terminating equipment with thePSTN. For an LEC including the AIN 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1, thecentral office switches may be provided as Service Switching Points(SSP) switches 12. The dashed line 14 between the SSP switches 12indicates that the number of SSP switches 12 in the AIN 10 may varydepending on the particular requirements of the AIN 10. The AIN 10 mayalso include a non-SSP switch 16. The difference between the SSPswitches 12 and the non-SSP switch 16 is that the SSP switches 12provide intelligent network functionality. Interconnecting the SSPswitches 12 and the non-SSP switch 16 are communication links 18 whichmay be, for example, trunk circuits.

[0016] Each SSP switch 12 and non-SSP switch 16 has a number ofsubscriber lines 20 connected thereto. The subscriber lines 20 may be,for example, conventional twisted pair loop circuits connected betweenthe switches 12, 16 and the telephone drops for the customer premises,or the subscriber lines 20 may be trunk circuits, such as T-1 trunkcircuits. Typically, the number of subscriber lines 20 connected to eachswitch 12, 16 is on the order of ten thousand to one hundred thousandlines. Each of the subscriber lines 20 is connected to a terminatingpiece of customer premises equipment, represented in FIG. 1 by thelandline telephones 22. Alternatively, the terminating equipment may beanother type of telecommunications unit such as, for example, atelecopier, a personal computer, a modem, or a private branch exchange(PBX) switching system. allow the LEC to provide call processingfeatures and services that are not embedded within conventionalswitching circuits of the PSTN.

[0017] A typical LEC includes a number of central office (CO) switchesfor interconnecting customer premises terminating equipment with thePSTN. For an LEC including the AIN 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1, thecentral office switches may be provided as Service Switching Points(SSP) switches 12. The dashed line 14 between the SSP switches 12indicates that the number of SSP switches 12 in the AIN 10 may varydepending on the particular requirements of the AIN 10. The AIN 10 mayalso include a non-SSP switch 16. The difference between the SSPswitches 12 and the non-SSP switch 16 is that the SSP switches 12provide intelligent network functionality. Interconnecting the SSPswitches 12 and the non-SSP switch 16 are communication links 18 whichmay be, for example, trunk circuits.

[0018] Each SSP switch 12 and non-SSP switch 16 has a number ofsubscriber lines 20 connected thereto. The subscriber lines 20 may be,for example, conventional twisted pair loop circuits connected betweenthe switches 12, 16 and the telephone drops for the customer premises,or the subscriber lines 20 may be trunk circuits, such as T-1 trunkcircuits. Typically, the number of subscriber lines 20 connected to eachswitch 12, 16 is on the order of ten thousand to one hundred thousandlines. Each of the subscriber lines 20 is connected to a terminatingpiece of customer premises equipment, represented in FIG. 1 by thelandline telephones 22. Alternatively, the terminating equipment may beanother type of telecommunications unit such as, for example, atelecopier, a personal computer, a modem, or a private branch exchange(PBX) switching system.

[0019] For the AIN 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, each SSP switch 12 and thenon-SSP switch 16 are connected to a signal transfer point (STP) 24 viaa communication link 26. The communication link 26 may employ, forexample, the SS7 switching protocol. The STP 24 may be a multi-porthigh-speed packet switch that is programmed to respond to the routinginformation in the appropriate layer of the switching protocol, androute the data packets to their intended destination.

[0020] One of the intended destinations of the data packets from the STP24 is a service control point (SCP) 28. The STP 24 is in communicationwith the SCP 28 via a communication link 30, which may also employ theSS7 switching protocol. The SCP 28 may be an intelligent database serversuch as, for example, an Intelligent Network Service Control Pointavailable from Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., and may haveassociated with it a network database 32 for storing network data. Theintelligent functionality of the SCP 28 may be realized by applicationprograms, such as programmable Service Program Applications (SPA), whichare run by the SCP 28. The SCP 28 is normally employed to implement highvolume routing services, such as call forwarding and number portabilitytranslation and routing. In addition, another of the functions of theSCP 28 is hosting of the network database 32, which may store subscriberinformation, such as subscriber call management profiles, used inproviding enhanced calling services, such as the SCD service with GISintegration described by the present invention.

[0021] In order to implement the system described by the presentinvention, a mobile positioning center (MPC) 40 may reside on the SCP28. The MPC 40 is an SS7-based location management component that caninterface with a variety of PDE's utilizing ALI technologies such asGPS, A-GPS, AOA, TOA, and TDOA. Locational data can be transferred fromthe MPC 40 to the SCP 28 for further processing. An example of suchprocessing is E-911 call routing, which may include receiving locationaldata from the MPC 40, comparing that information to a PSAP database 42accessible to the SCP 28, and routing the call to anappropriately-located emergency service. Data processing may beperformed using a location management platform (LMP) 38 such as MapInfo®LMP, an application programming interface available from MapInfoCorporation, Troy, N.Y. Residing on the SCP 28, the LMP 38 convertslocational data into a format compatible with other SCP 28 applications,such as the GIS application 39 of the present invention, as describedhereinbelow in conjunction with FIGS. 2 and 3. Alternatively, locationaldata may be transferred to non-SCP 28 applications for processing fromthe LMP 38, or directly from the MPC 40.

[0022] The AIN 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 also includes an intelligentperipheral device (IP) 34. The IP 34 may be a services node such as, forexample, a Compact Services Node (CSN) available from LucentTechnologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J., although the IP 34 may be anyother type of available AIN-compliant intelligent peripheral device. TheIP 34 may be connected to one or more of the SSP switches 12 via acommunications link 36 which may be, for example, an Integrated ServiceDigital Network (ISDN), including BRI (Basic Rate Interface) or PRI(Primary Rate Interface) lines. According to other embodiments, thecommunications link 36 may be, for example, a T-1 trunk circuit.

[0023] The IP 34 may be used primarily when some enhanced feature orservice is needed that requires an audio connection to the call such as,for example, call return and calling name services. Similar to the SCP28, the intelligent functionality of the IP 34 may be realized byprogrammable applications executable by the IP 34.

[0024] In order to keep the processing of data and calls as simple aspossible at the switches, such as at the SSP switches 12, a set oftriggers may be defined at the SSP switches 12 for each call. A triggerin an AIN is an event associated with a particular subscriber line 20that generates a data packet to be sent from the SSP switch 12 servicingthe particular subscriber line 20 to the SCP 28 via the STP 24. Thetriggers may be originating triggers for calls originating from thesubscriber premises or terminating triggers for calls terminating at thesubscriber premises. A trigger causes a message in the form of a queryto be sent from the SSP switch 12 to the SCP 28.

[0025] The SCP 28 in turn interrogates the network database 32 todetermine whether some customized call feature or enhanced serviceshould be implemented for the particular call, or whether conventionaldial-up telephone service should be provided. The results of thedatabase inquiry are sent back from the SCP 28 to the SSP switch 12 viathe STP 24. The return packet includes instructions to the SSP switch 12as to how to process the call. The instructions may be to take somespecial action as a result of a customized calling service or enhancedfeature. For example, for an enhanced calling feature requiring thecapabilities of the IP 34, the return message from the SCP 28 mayinclude instructions for the SSP switch 12 to route the call to the IP34. In addition, the return message from the SCP 28 may simply be anindication that there is no entry in the network database 32 thatindicates anything other than conventional telephone service should beprovided for the call. The query and return messages may be formatted,for example, according to conventional SS7 TCAP (TransactionCapabilities Application Part) formats. U.S. Pat. No. 5,438,568, whichis incorporated herein by reference, discloses additional detailsregarding the functioning of an AIN.

[0026] The AIN 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes only one STP 24, oneSCP 28, one network database 32, and one IP 34, although the AIN 10 mayfurther include an additional number of these components as well asother network components, which are not included in FIG. 1 for purposesof clarity. For example, the AIN 10 may additionally include redundantSCPs and STPs to take over if the STP 24 or the SCP 28 should fail. Inaddition, the AIN 10 may include an Automatic Electronic SwitchingSystem (AESS) Network Access Point (NAP) in communication with the STP24, which may be programmed to detect the trigger conditions. Further,the AIN 10 may include regional STPs and regional SCPs in communicationwith, for example, the local STP 24, for routing and servicing callsbetween different LECs.

[0027]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a system 52 according to anembodiment of the present invention. The system 52 incorporates portionsof the AIN 10 described above, including SSP switches 12 a-b (designatedas “CO SWITCH” in FIG. 2) and the SCP 28. The system 52 also includes asecond switch 54 in communication with the SCP 28 of the AIN 10described in FIG. 1. The second switch 54 may be, for example, a mobileswitching center (MSC) 54, such as the Alcatel 1000 S12 switchmanufactured by Alcatel. The MSC 54 further communicates with a wirelessnetwork 58 and thus serves as a connection point to fixed networks suchas PSTN's. The wireless network 58 may encompass numerous other systems52, thereby providing wireless service over a large area. An example ofthe wireless network 58 is a cellular telephone network. The wirelessnetwork 58 may communicate with a variety of wireless communicationdevices 60, examples of which can include wireless telephones, wirelessPDA's, WAP devices, and interactive pagers.

[0028] The system 52 may also include position-determining equipment(PDE) 56, 57 for providing the location of the wireless communicationdevice. The PDE can be device-based, network-based, or a combination ofboth. An example of a device-based PDE 57 is a GPS receiver.Network-based PDE's 56 can include circuits performing Time-of-Arrival(TOA) positioning, Angle-of-Arrival (AOA) positioning, or TimeDifference of Arrival (TDOA) positioning. An example of both adevice-based and network-based PDE 56, 57 is an Assisted GPS (A-GPS)system in which a device-based GPS receiver 57 is assisted by anetwork-based GPS receiver 56 to minimize the acquisition time of thedevice-based GPS receiver 57.

[0029] The accuracy with which a caller's position is determined dependson the locational technology employed. Using GPS technology,measurements accurate to within several meters are typical in openenvironments. GPS consists of a constellation of 24 earth-orbitingsatellites, four of which are visible to an earth-based GPS receiver atany given time. The receiver analyzes radio broadcasts from each of thesatellites, and using trilateration algorithms, computes the longitude,latitude, and altitude of the receiver's location. A-GPS relies on anearth-based GPS reference network providing assistance to the GPSreceiver, reducing acquisition time from minutes to seconds, in additionto improving accuracy.

[0030] Although GPS-based PDE's provide the best accuracy, most of thewireless devices in use today are not GPS-capable. Radio-basedlocational technologies, on the other hand, do not require device-basedPDE's 57, relying instead on network-based measurements ofelectromagnetic signals emitted by the wireless communication deviceduring normal operation. AOA systems, for example, use triangulation todetermine the location of a signal source and require a minimum of tworeceiving stations. These systems, however, require installation ofdirectional antennas. TOA and TDOA systems identify position bymeasuring either time of arrival or time difference of arrival ofelectromagnetic signals. Radio-based technologies may be combined intohybrid PDE's, such as the Sigma-5000 TDOA/AOA Location System™ designedby SigmaOne Communications Corporation, Woodland Hills, Calif. Typicalaccuracies of radio-based PDE's are on the order of several hundredfeet.

[0031] For purposes of describing features of the present invention, thecalling party is a user of a telephone 22. The called party is a user ofa wireline telephone 62 and an associated wireless communication device60. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system anda method for delivering a wireline telephone call to an associatedwireless device only when the wireless device is in a different locationthan the wireline telephone as illustrated in FIG. 3. According to thisembodiment, the calling party places a call to the wireline telephone 62of the called party at step 70, who may be a subscriber to the SCDservice with GIS integration described by the present invention or mayuse the service on a pay-per-usage basis. The SCP 28, as describedabove, may execute a SPA program to determine what customized callfeatures or enhanced services should be implemented for a particularcall. Accordingly, the SCP 28 interrogates its network database 32 todetermine if the SCD service with GIS integration described by thepresent invention is available to the called party at step 72. If theSCD service with GIS integration is not available, the call is deliveredto the wireline device 62 at step 80.

[0032] After the SCP 28 verifies that the called party is a subscriberto the SCD service with GIS integration, the AIN 10 may route the callto the MSC 54. The MSC 54 validates the directory number of the wirelesscommunication device 60 associated with the called party's wirelinetelephone 62 at step 74 and then transmits a page message over thewireless network 58 at step 76. If on, the wireless communication device60 may return a page response to the MSC 54 via the wireless network 58at step 78. The page response from the wireless communication device 60can include an electronic serial number (ESN) and a mobileidentification number (MIN) associated with the wireless communicationdevice 60 for call processing purposes. If no page response is received,it is assumed that the wireless communication device 60 is not on. Inthis case, the system described by the present invention will deliverthe call directly to the called party's wireline telephone 62 at step80.

[0033] In one embodiment, the page response from the wirelesscommunication device 60 may further include locational informationobtained from a device-based PDE 57, such as a GPS or A-GPS. Thisinformation may include, for example, the longitude, latitude, andaltitude of the wireless communication device 60.

[0034] In another embodiment, the page response transmitted by thewireless communication device 60 may contain no locational information.In this embodiment, detection of the page response at the MSC 54 andsubsequent processing using network-based PDE's can reveal the calledparty's location.

[0035] Following a determination of the called party's wireless device's60 position at step 82, the results may be transferred from the PDE 56,57 to the MPC 40 via the MSC 54. The MPC 40 may be a server retrievingand logging locational information from various PDE's for use by otherapplications. An example of an MPC 40 is the Ericsson Mobile PositioningSystem (MPS), made by Ericsson. A GIS application providing locationalservices such as the SCD service with GIS integration described by thepresent invention may then access the locational information containedin the MPC 40 via the LMP 38. The LMP 38 converts the locational datainto formats compatible with other applications. These applications mayreside on the SCP 28 or a non-SS7-based network, such as an IP network,for example.

[0036] Next, the GIS application 39 may compare the location of thecalled party's wireline telephone 62 to the location of the associatedwireless communication device 60 at step 84. In one embodiment, the SCP28 and the GIS application 39 executing therein acquires the wirelinelocation by querying a database containing directory numbers andassociated addresses, such as a PSAP database 42. If the locations aredetermined to be identical or within a certain vicinity at step 86, sucha vicinity can be set to a default or may be user selectable or if thewireless communication device 60 does not return a page response, theGIS application 39 will instruct the AIN 10 to route the call directlyto the called party's wireline telephone 62 at step 80. Otherwise, thecall will be delivered to the associated wireless communication device60 at step 88.

[0037] It is to be understood that the present description illustratesthose aspects of the invention relevant to a clear understanding of theinvention. Certain aspects of the invention that would be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art and that, therefore, would notfacilitate a better understanding of the invention, have not beenpresented in order to simplify the present description. Although thepresent invention has been described in connection with certainembodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art will, upon consideringthe foregoing description, recognize that many modifications andvariations of the invention may be employed. It is intended that allsuch variations and modifications of the invention be covered by theforegoing description and following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of delivering a call to a called party'sdevice, comprising: receiving a call directed to a wireline device;validating that a telephone number of the wireline device is associatedwith a telephone number of a wireless device; transmitting a message tothe wireless device; delivering the call to the wireline device when areturn message is not received from the wireless device; determining alocation of the wireless device when a return message is received fromthe wireless device; comparing the location of the wireless device witha location of the wireline device; delivering the call to the wirelessdevice when the location of the wireless device is not within apredefined vicinity of the location of the wireline device; anddelivering the call to the wireline device when the location of thewireless device is within a predefined vicinity of the location of thewireline device.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining whether the called party is a subscriber to a call deliveryservice with GIS integration.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising routing the call to a telecommunications switch.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving a return message fromthe wireless device containing at least one of an electronic serialnumber and a mobile identification number.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a return message from the wireless devicecontaining locational information associated with the wireless device.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising accessing a database toobtain the location of the wireline device.
 7. An apparatus fordelivering a call to a called party's device, comprising: means forreceiving a call directed to a wireline device; means for validatingthat a telephone number of the wireline device is associated with atelephone number of a wireless device; means for transmitting a messageto the wireless device; means for delivering the call to the wirelinedevice when a return message is not received from the wireless device;means for determining a location of the wireless device when a returnmessage is received from the wireless device; means for comparing thelocation of the wireless device with a location of the wireline device;means for delivering the call to the wireless device when the locationof the wireless device is not within a predefined vicinity of thelocation of the wireline device; and means for delivering the call tothe wireline device when the location of the wireless device is within apredefined vicinity of the location of the wireline device.
 8. Acomputer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, whenexecuted by a processor, causes the processor to: receive a calldirected to a wireline device; validate that a telephone number of thewireline device is associated with a telephone number of a wirelessdevice; transmit a message to the wireless device; deliver the call tothe wireline device when a return message is not received from thewireless device; determine a location of the wireless device when areturn message is received from the wireless device; compare thelocation of the wireless device with a location of the wireline device;deliver the call to the wireless device when the location of thewireless device is not within a predefined vicinity of the location ofthe wireline device; and deliver the call to the wireline device whenthe location of the wireless device is within a predefined vicinity ofthe location of the wireline device.
 9. A telecommunications system,comprising: a controller, comprising: a mobile positioning center; alocation management platform; and a GIS application; at least onetelecommunications switch; and a wireless telecommunications network.10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a network database incommunication with the controller.
 11. The system of claim 9, furthercomprising a PSAP database in communication with the controller.
 12. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the controller is a service control point.13. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one telecommunicationsswitch includes a mobile switching center.
 14. The system of claim 9,wherein the wireless telecommunications network includes a cellularnetwork.
 15. The system of claim 9, further comprising a positiondetermining device.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the positiondetermining device includes GPS functionality.
 17. The system of claim9, further comprising an intelligent peripheral device.
 18. A controllerfor controlling the delivery of a call to either a wireline device or awireless device depending on the a location of the wireless device inrelation to a location of the wireline device, comprising: a mobilepositioning center; a location management platform; and a GISapplication.